McUmber sets course record, leads B-CC to county title

By Emily Young

Sophomores Nora McUmber and Caroline Beakes

Sophomore Nora McUmber has never been one to surge to the front of the race. In fact, her style has historically involved a relaxed first couple miles slightly removed from the front runners, and then a slow but steady run down of the lead pack. On Saturday, however, McUmber decided about a mile into the race that hanging out behind the lead pack felt too cramped, so she unexpectedly excused herself from the group and began the hunt for the race’s lone lead runner, Richard Montgomery’s Sophie El Masry. Sophomore Caroline Beakes followed suit, and the two runners, in an unforeseen but not entirely surprising turn of events, opened up a sizeable lead on a field filled with talented, state champion-caliber runners. At the end of 3.1 miles, McUmber was the first runner across the line, claiming the title of County Champion and setting a new course record of 18:25. Beakes followed shortly after in 18:32, 16 seconds ahead of El Masry, who finished third.

Although McUmber and Beakes decisively claimed the top two spots, the team still needed a solid performance from their third, fourth, and fifth runners in order to hold off a strong and improving Quince Orchard team. Senior Laura Nakasaka, an often under-celebrated yet invaluable member of the varsity squad, kept QO’s number 3 runner in her sights and was eventually able to overtake her, crossing the line in 12^th place in 19:25, 4 seconds ahead of her competition. Affectionately known as the Terminator for her incredible toughness, Nakasaka has been vital to the team’s success this season, and she proved again on Saturday why she is regarded as one of the most consistent, most reliable runners on the team.

Senior Laura Nakasaka

Sophomore Abby Fry, who, like Nakasaka, does not always receive the credit and recognition she deserves, also turned in a valuable performance, finishing 17^th in 19:54 and further solidifying B-CC’s advantage over QO. Freshman Abigail Levine was the next Baron to cross the line. Levine, stepping up into B-CC’s number five spot for the first time this season, finished 34^th in a time of 20:38 and secured the victory for B-CC. Rounding out the top 7 for the Barons were Sophomore Kat McNeill in 20:58 and Junior Amanda Cohen in 21:03.

The B-CC girls were able to walk away with the win on Saturday, but Quince Orchard certainly made their presence known and established themselves as a cause for concern at the upcoming regional and state meets.

The varsity girls were not the only B-CC squad to run their way to a victory on Saturday. B-CC also claimed a first place team finish in the JV 9/10 race. Freshman Marie Caspard took control of the race from the start and dominated the competition, winning the race in 21:15, 20 seconds in front of the second place finisher. But she wasn’t the only B-CC freshman to make a statement in the race. Freshmen Lily O’Dowd, Annie Sharkey, and Lauren Kronheim finished 4^th, 6^th, and 7^th, respectively. The impressive showing from the B-CC rookies suggests that there could be a serious struggle for the top 7 varsity spots next season.

Freshman Marie Caspard

In the JV 11/12 race, Junior Angie Peterson led the way for the Barons with a gutsy race and a 5^th place finish, followed by Senior Elena Crouch in 11^th and Junior Vanessa Shu in 13^th. Seniors Emily Hardgrove and Shayna Nash rounded out the scoring for the Barons, who finished 3^rd as a team.

The B-CC girls walked away from Saturday with a lot to celebrate, including two team titles, two individual titles, and PR performances from:

Alyssa Alfonso (23:22)

Caroline Beakes (18:32)

Sofia Crouch (23:22)

Imani Drew (27:58)

Francesca Faccone (23:17)

Casey Gutierrez (26:54)

Tess Joseph (23:40)

Nora McUmber (18:25)

Sonia Picard (29:05)

Ellen Sisti (24:43)

Leah Teshome (27:33)

Genevieve Volz (25:48)

Sarah Ward (23:30)

The girls and boys teams will be at High Point Farm in Clarksburg one week from today for the Regional meet. The gun goes off at 3pm for the girls and 4pm for the boys. Come cheer on the team!